Black Sheep Inn

I recently spoke with a staple in the Toronto music scene, Joel Gibb of The Hidden Cameras, about their new album Home on Native Land and what he’s been up to since releasing Age in 2014. The new record features names such as Feist, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Ron Sexsmith, Bahamas, Rufus Wainwright and Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant, and is one that took nearly a decade to piece together. The Hidden Cameras have proven to be a staple in Canadian music since forming in 2001, and Gibb’s drive to constantly push the envelope seems to shows no signs of letting up.

Have a listen to the track “The Day I Left Home” below, and read the rapid-fire interview below.

Your new album Home on Native Land has been in the works for some time. Can you talk about how you pieced it together over the years?

I began recording the album while I was making Awoo in 2006 on the Toronto Island with Don Kerr. Over the years I worked on other records and wrote other songs but never forgot about the idea to put out a country album or rather my interpretation of rootsy music in general. It’s also a straight-up Cameras record and my voice and songwriting is still there but it’s perhaps though my romanticized idea of country.

The album features appearances by RufusWainwright, Feist, Ron Sexsmith and Mary Margaret O’Hara. Was going heavy on the collaborations your original intention? How did some of these come about?

The guests just came about in their own way. Don drums for Ron so he just came around one day. I sought Mary Margaret out by phone for a spot on 2014’s Age on the song “Gay Goth Scene” and she also recorded some sweet choir-boy vocals for “Log Driver’s Waltz” at the same morning session. I was drinking with Rufus one night in Toronto and asked him to come round to sing the next morning.

For those who are fans of Hidden Cameras, what is special or different about this album that past material?

Pedal Steel, Banjo. We do three covers which is a first.

Can you talk a bit about your recent partnership with the McMichael Gallery?

They approached us upon hearing about the new album and I thought what a perfect place to unleash this new music. It’s my idea of what Canadiana might sound like in my imagination. What better place then the home of the Group of Seven.

When in Europe, what did you miss most about Canada?

The friendliness, the healthcare, the friends and the music scene….and the dispensaries.

For those new to Hidden Cameras, what do you hope they take from the new record?

I hope they get into the songwriting and the interpretations of standards and the sweet idyllic world I was trying to create.

T’was a Saturday like any other… just kidding. It was a lovely combination of miserable and cold, the first whispers of what will surely be a typically freezing Ottawa winter. But nestled in the heart of the small riverside community of Wakefield is a place of solitude and warmth known as the Black Sheep Inn. When asked if I was interested in venturing out, I believe my response was “Heck yeah,” or perhaps something with a little more profanity, regardless it was a welcomed offer of warmth and music. I will rarely turn down a night at the Black Sheep Inn.

Blacksheep, unlike most other venues in the Ottawa area, requires guests to put in a little more (lot more) effort to actually make out to a show. It never fails to surprise me every time I pull in to the very full parking lot. This show was no different. I knew going out that it was a sold out show, and sold out for Black Sheep means that people arrive hours before doors to grab a seat, and a bite to eat, before a night of music. Wakefield quite literally provides the audience with the full dinner and a show experience. Typically the space will be adjusted for the type of show, I’ve attended anything from sit down lunch shows with audience members under the age of one, to being taught how to dance traditional blues; anything goes. You can also expect that whether there is room at the front or not, you are practically on the stage with the band, and if you weren’t, did you even go to Black Sheep?

The first band up was Lowlands, hailing from Guelph ON, they brought with them a dreamy yet harsh folk set. Combining poetic story telling with full sound drumming, banjo and steel guitar. They were loud, homey, and went well with the warm theme of the evening. They brought songs from their album Huron, as well as songs off their new album Erie, which we can keep our eyes and ears open for its release later this fall.*

The Wooden Sky took over shortly after. The audience energized as they took the stage and it quickly became clear why. They started their set off with a bang and kept up the energy right through to the end. Combining electronic aspects with folk, they absolutely took over the venue. I’m confident in saying that people would have danced had there been room, but like I mentioned, it was very sold out. Along with the electric side of the folk spectrum, they also brought harmonics and violin. They played a diverse set covering songs new and old, debuting some and bringing back some classics. The band took a moment part way through their set to make the night extra special for one couple in the audience and then slowed it down for a few songs, leaving just two band members on stage.** They picked it back up for the final few songs and ended the show on a high note.

Both of these bands are currently touring Eastern Ontario and visited a few places in Quebec. The Wooden Sky hinted at the very real possibility of there being an upcoming holiday show at St. Albans Church, which is something everyone can keep an eye out for, and in a brief conversation outside with Lowlands, they also seemed keen on returning to the Ottawa area in the near future.

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*Lowlands has plans of releasing an album titled dedicated to each of the Great Lakes which is super groovy.

**Unbeknownst to everyone, a couple had gotten engaged either just before or during the show (details were unclear) and the band took that moment to dedicate a very cute song to them, and there were tears and dancing.

Every weekend we’re going to round up some great shows options for you to check out in Ottawa. That doesn’t mean there isn’t more going on in town, these are just the ones we think are a guaranteed hit.

Every weekend we’re going to round up some great shows options for you to check out in Ottawa. That doesn’t mean there isn’t more going on in town, these are just the ones we think are a guaranteed hit. We’re also going to be keeping a more comprehensive monthly listings page, which you can check out here.

Every weekend we’re going to round up some great shows options for you to check out in Ottawa. That doesn’t mean there isn’t more going on in town, these are just the ones we think are a guaranteed hit. We’re also going to be keeping a more comprehensive monthly listings page, which you can check out here.

Every weekend we’re going to round up some great shows options for you to check out in Ottawa. That doesn’t mean there isn’t more going on in town, these are just the ones we think are a guaranteed hit. We’re also going to be keeping a more comprehensive monthly listings page, which you can check out here.

After much anticipation, Pony Girl are finally set to release their sophomore LP Foreign Life on vinyl on April 30 at Black Sheep Inn. The wax has been pressed and delivered, and we’re giving a copy away to one lucky contestant! The runner up will also be receiving two free passes to the Black Sheep Inn for the release party, so that’s a pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

Pony Girl blew us away in 2013 with their debut Show Me Your Fears, and have taken their art-rock game to the next level with Foreign Life (the review of which you should read here). Matt Smith describes the release eloquently:

Foreign Life, the sophomore album from the Ottawa band, is a collage of emotion and style, well lit and finely mounted. Each song a small canvas with a dramatic point of focus, be it rolling acoustic guitar, electronic beat or voice. Sugary pop tunes leap out of synthscapes and run naked through your ears. Pony Girl appear to have passed through the recent New Folk movement carrying a pastel distillation of its crucial elements. The elegant arrangement of acoustic and electronic, the sighing winds and the seething synths, it harks familiar yet is presented in a uniquely stream-lined form.

Pony Girl is a favourite of ours, and this LP will be an excellent addition to anyone’s record collection.Foreign Life by Pony Girl

How To Enter

Email music [at] ottawashowbox.com with the subject “Pony Girl Contest” and answer the following question: Which delicious party food is featured Pony Girl’s video for “Candy?”

If you answer correctly, you will be automatically entered into the draw to win the vinyl copy of Foreign Life, or the pair of tickets to the vinyl release on April 30. The draw will happen on Wednesday, April 27 at noon. Winners will be contacted via email.

Check out their video for “Little Life” performed live at St. Alban’s Church, and vote for Pony Girl in CBC’s Searchlight contest here.